Says King: Small-Scale SF Doesn’t Play With Big Kids

Published November 11, 2008•Updated on November 11, 2008 at 10:15 am

In the wake of Chicago's and New York's Nov. 4 public orgies of celebration, John King has chin in palm pondering San Francisco's conspicuous lack of public orgies. (Weird, right?) Yes, he says, the jubilant spilled onto Castro Street, the obvious go-to place whenever you want to buck wild with like-minded citizens, but this was nothing compared with the Grant Park or Times Square monstrosities. Nay: "Obama's victory caused a meteor shower of public exultation to shoot across our civic landscape-- flickering up with high-fives and car honks and spontaneous delight, dissolving in most places as people moved on." Moments like these are what make San Francisco distinct not only in scale, but in spirit, from other "big cities." Apparently, we don't celebrate big. Union Square? Nope. Embarcadero? Perish the thought! We are a city, says King, of "intimate neighborhoods and small-scale scenes," where the "emphasis is on the parts, not the whole." Has King hit the nail on the head, or is he writing on an electoral high? If we may add, San Francisco always turns out in full force for costumed parades. So... there's that.
· S.F.'s party spot? Not Justin Herman Plaza [SF Gate]For more stories from Curbed SF, go to sf.curbed.com.